Morning Hot Dish

Walz targets nursing home neglect

Good morning and happy Friday. Gov. Tim Walz is back in Washington today for a meeting of the National Governor's Association, which includes lunch at the residence of Vice President Mike Pence.

Walz in his budget released earlier this week proposed a "dramatic expansion" of the state's power to crack down on abuse and neglect of the elderly living in care facilities, writes Chris Serres (whose reporting shed light on widespread mistreatment of residents in those facilities).

A new push is on at the State Capitol to restore access to driver's licenses for immigrants living in Minnesota illegally, Jessie Van Berkel reports. This proposal has bounced around the statehouse the last couple years, but advocates say this is their year.

Attorney General Keith Ellison will convene a task force aimed at lowering the price of prescription drugs, Stephen Montemayor reports.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar is in Georgia today, where she's got a fundraiser. She's also meeting with former President Jimmy Carter -- presume they'll swap Fritz Mondale stories -- and with Stacey Abrams, the unsuccessful Democratic candidate for governor there last year who nonetheless emerged as a rising star for the party. In addition, Klobuchar will meet with local leaders and activists for a roundtable discussion on voting rights.

Klobuchar was back in Iowa last night. Minnesota's own John McCormick, a Bloomberg News politics reporter, tweeted about her speech here. And Brianne Pfannenstiel of the Des Moines Register tweets that Klobuchar introduced Andy McGuire, a former state party chair, as her Iowa campaign chair. McGuire lost the state's Democratic primary for governor last year.

Still waiting on a promised list of major staff hires so far from the Klobuchar for prez team.

More 2020 news: hearing that Ryan Furlong will manage Sen. Tina Smith's reelection campaign. He was comms director on last year's Smith effort, and had past stints with Steve Simon, Al Franken and Mark Dayton.

Republican Rep. Steve King of northwestern Iowa will run for a 10th term next year, the Register reports. That's after his fellow Republicans recently stripped him of committee assignments for asking, in an interview with the New York Times, when the terms "white supremacist" and "white nationalist" had become offensive.

Some Republicans tried to compare King's case to that of Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, who drew bipartisan criticism for a tweet widely criticized as anti-Semitic. Omar retained her committee assignments. Of course, Omar apologized. King, meanwhile, said: "I have nothing to apologize for."

New election ordered in North Carolina's 9th Congressional District, where Republican candidate Mark Harris conceded that his lead had been tainted by operatives in his employ who tampered with ballots.

Ironic Punishment Division: flamboyant "Trump confidant" Roger Stone got slapped with a gag order in his criminal case after he posted on Instagram a picture of his judge with what appeared to be the crosshairs of a gun.

I love a good burger as much as anyone -- probably more so, tbh -- but this just seems kind of gross.

That's all for this week; next week, Van Berkel and Montemayor will pick up Hot Dish duties. Have a lovely weekend.

-- Patrick Condon

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